Resident Evil Village has a number of new and rather unique monsters for the franchise, but one of them may have been stolen from a film. One of the most noteworthy bosses in Resident Evil Village is a creature that is half man, half aircraft propeller, and apparently, the director of the 2013 film Frankenstein's Army believes Capcom knowingly ripped it off along with other characters in that same section of the game.
Resident Evil as a franchise is known for its imaginative, well-realized monsters, such as Lady Dimitrescu in Resident Evil Village. Oftentimes the disgusting and violent villains become incredibly iconic and are held up highly in the survival horror genre. The series has birthed the likes of Mr. X, the Nemesis, the Chainsaw Man, and many more, but some of the franchise's latest creations may not be wholly original.
Frankenstein's Army director Richard Raaphorst claimed that Capcom plagiarized his creation with the Propeller Head monster, along with other creations. These enemies are found in Heisenberg's factory toward the end of the game and, ironically, a piece of concept art for Heisenberg specifically notes a Frankenstein influence. Although there are some differences, such as the fact that Propeller Head in Resident Evil Village has no arms because he cut them off by mistake, it's possible that Capcom may have taken heavy inspiration from the 2013 film.
Understandably, Rapphorst is rather upset. Resident Evil Village is critically acclaimed and he feels like he hasn't been appropriately credited. Whether or not this was just a lone artist who conjured up these characters for the new game or it was a team of artists who conceptualized the character after watching the film is unknown. It's also not known if this will escalate to a legal matter or if there's even a chance that Rapphorst has enough solid foundation to build a case against the Japanese giant.
Resident Evil Village still seems to have plenty of original characters, despite being based on folk lore and legends like werewolves and vampires. It's certainly interesting that almost an entire level from the game is filled with characters that closely resemble those from an older film. Nonetheless, the characters feel in line with the homages to Resident Evil 4. It would be difficult to prove that the designers at Capcom definitely viewed this movie, but it'll be interesting to see how Capcom responds as the story gains more traction from news outlets, fans, and general horror enthusiasts on social media.
Source: Richard Raaphorst, CloneKorp